BEREA, OH — Since 1999, the Browns have had 29 different quarterback’s start a game. When rookie Baker Mayfield takes the field against the Raiders on Sunday, he’ll be the 30th, after officially being named the team’s starting QB on Monday. And while two decades worth of failed quarterback projects has created quite the revisionist history for Browns fans to hang onto, Mayfield couldn’t care less.
“It’s 2018. Don’t really care,” the No. 1 overall pick asserted when asked about being QB No. 30.
That’s the attitude you can expect consistently from Mayfield now that the spotlight is officially fixated on him. Worrying about the past woes of the organization would be a disservice. Still, the Mayfield takes over under center with lofty expectations. Expectations to win. Expectations to save the franchise. Expectations to be a Hall of Fame caliber talent. That can be a lot to handle.
“It comes with the territory,” Mayfield said. “That is what I signed up for. I am living my dream, and I would not have it any other way. Without pressure, I do not think this would be very much fun without all the people watching and finding the joy in this game. I love this game. Without the competitive nature, I would not enjoy it.”
Even after a Heisman winning season at Oklahoma last fall and being drafted first overall back in April, leading the Browns to a comeback win from down 14-0 on Thursday night has boosted Mayfield’s hype to new heights. In fact, well-known sports apparel site Fanatics.com saw a massive uptick in Baker Mayfield jersey sales from halftime until midnight of Thursday’s contest, enough to make the rookie’s uni the top selling jersey of the day.
Fortunately, the rookie is wise beyond his years. Following that unique, but memorable college career that saw Mayfield go from a walk-on at Texas Tech and Oklahoma, to Heisman winner, Mayfield feels well-equipped to handle his overnight NFL stardom.
“That is kind of my story,” he said. “There have been a lot of highs and a lot of lows. You have to find the happy medium … You have to have that same attitude each day. You have to show up to work.”
As mesmerizing as Mayfield was on Thursday night, completing 17-of-23 passes for 201 yards, leading four scoring drives and even catching a two-point conversion, his work is far from over.
“Even though I had one good game, that is just a building block. I did not come here just to win one game, and I did not come here just to start the next. We are building a franchise here and we are turning it around. It is about culture so being that same person every day, which means finding that happy medium, never listening to the outside noise.”
Mayfield sounds like a guy who’s ready to meet expectations, even if the previous 29 guys in his position didn’t.
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